Infinite Possibilities
by delicatedestiny
Summary: With her by his side, anything's possible.  They can have any future they want, surrounded by the support and love of their team. One-shot for 4x18: Slow Burn. Spoilers & Jam


Disclaimer: Not mine. I wish I could pretend I had something to do with this show, this episode, but unfortunately not.

Spoilers: 4x18: Slow Burn

They're waiting for the call, expecting it really and yet they still have no plan. It's unlike them to not have some sort of approach, to not be prepared for every possibility. This is the woman who still has strategies to get them into headquarters separately. And even though he has his own car now (a bike in a Toronto winter just doesn't cut it unfortunately) and can drive himself into work without suspicion, she's still on top of her game. And him without a plan? He's the tactical thinker, born and raised to be. And yet for a decision that will affect their lives in every way, where the outcome appears bleak, they have nothing more than a thirty second conversation that resolved nothing.

All he knows, as Greg's phone rings, is that he loves her and they can make it through any decision. As Greg walks away, he draws closer to Jules. He's glancing down at her and she up at him and he can read the nervousness on her face. As pessimistic as she was sounding earlier this morning, he knows it's a front. Despite her declaration that there's no chance that the chief will change his decision, he knows the truth: she's hoping just as strongly as he is that against all odds, they can remain together on Team One. She's merely holding that hope close to her heart, in attempt to protect herself.

It's not even that they're going to break up over this: they've long passed that stage of worries. They've put everything they've got into the relationship and they'll deal with anything that comes their way with the same way they face every aspect of their careers: determination and strength.

So it's not a break-up that is the main concern about being split up; it's what they're going to do next to move forward as a couple, how it affects the plans they've made in their usual round-about fashion.

Does he take the job overseas, despite the distance it will put between them? He didn't ask his dad how long he would be there but it's safe to assume that if it's with the military, it'll be a good long while. He can't imagine doing that to Jules. He saw the look on her face when she was holding Izzy, looking at him mere moments before. He's caught enough of those glances from her this past year to know that she wants a future with kids with him, which thrills and honours him to no end.

He wants more than anything to give her what she wants: a family. But he refuses to be the absentee father and he couldn't ask Jules to leave her home, her family, to move away with him to a foreign country. So where would that leave them?

That walk over to their boss feels like they're moving in slow motion. Idly, he can't help but wonder if this is how it feels to be walking to your death. It's that pounding of his heart, the rush of blood to his ears, and he wants nothing more than to reach over and grab Jules' hand. Would that be taken as a sign of solidarity or one of defiance? But by the time the thought crosses his mind, they're already in front of Greg and he's just hoping that it's not the end of life as they all know it to be.

_That's it? That how you guys…That's all?_

It's all the permission she needs to reach for Sam, as he pulls her towards him. She lets out a thrilled gasp/giggle, something she's hoping that, in the happiness of the moment nobody will remember, as she finds herself in the warmth of his embrace. She can hardly believe what's happening. She almost feels like it's all just a dream, that she's going to wake up in bed with Sam and get ready for another day of pretending they're no more than colleagues, just family in the manner she thinks of every other member of their team.

But what used to be a seemingly impossible dream has come true and that makes it even better than she's ever envisioned. There had been an almost uncontainable smile beginning to grow when Greg had been telling them they could stay together and she had tried to repress it, but feeling Sam's body pressed so closely against hers, she doesn't even bother to hold it back anymore. This is actually happening. She's wrapped up in the arms of the man she's grown to love more than she thought possible, and she's doing it in front of their team.

To be able to finally share this with those closest to her is a blessing. She's known these men for years. They've taken on the positions of father, brothers, men who look out for her in spite of the fact that she's very much capable of taking care of herself. Despite her initial chagrin at that prospect, she's grown to accept it. It's how they take care of their own and in joining the team, she joined their family. And despite his rocky start, Sam has as well. So for both of them, finally being completely honest about their lives and to let their teammates be happy for them is surreal.

After all they've been through as a team, this is just the end of one chapter and the beginning of another. She can't help but think that with this resolved, they're a stronger unit, a stronger family. Toth was right in his viewing of the team before: they were fractured. But what he hadn't told them was that once those fractures, those secrets, were uncovered and the problems shared, solutions found, they would find their way back to one another, stronger than before.

All these secrets in the past year, held inside, they tear people apart; not just the person who's keeping the secret but those around them as well. The secrets the members of Team One had been keeping from one another had been slowly destroying the very thing they were trying to protect. She knows she's played her part in it: going against the rules, dating a co-worker in secret, that hadn't helped matters. But here they are, together again, and she can't help but think that, feeling the weight of Sam's arm around her, things are looking up.

_Thank you._

He pours everything he has into those two simple words. It means everything to him that Greg has stood up for them this entire time, putting his own career on the line. Greg could have blown the whistle on them two months ago, when he had discovered them at Jules' place. Instead, he had trusted them to maintain their professionalism, to uphold the SRU code of conduct. He had respected them enough to know they weren't just fooling around; that they were well aware they were breaking some rules and for them to be doing that, what they had must be real.

Even when he hadn't believed in himself, Greg had believed in them. He doesn't know exactly what happened between Toth and Parker but Ed's told him enough to fill in the blanks. Faced with his own suspension, Sarge had fought to keep Jules and him together on the same team. In spite of the mistakes they've made, the way they've gone about things both in the past and present, Greg Parker believes that they have what it takes to make it, and that faith is astounding.

But there's also an underlying message in his thanks. He knows the relationship Greg and Jules have. She's like a daughter to him. So for their boss to trust him with his pseudo-daughter's heart, that says a lot. He had joined the team as an almost unwelcomed rookie; inexperienced in negotiation, too eager to just go hard tactical without considering the other options, too stubborn at first to see that any way other than the one he'd been trained to think of was right. And yet here he was, being entrusted by a father-figure, with the happiness of the closest thing to a daughter he'll ever have.

Natalie was right, that one evening so long ago. What they'd had before, it hadn't been a five year plan. A job, a girlfriend, separating himself into two different people over them, it was impossible in the long-run. But now, now he can allow themselves to really dream of a life, five, ten years from now. Jules at work and Jules at home are one in the same; yes, he won't exactly be grabbing her and kissing her at headquarters, but on their off-time with their teammates, grabbing a drink after work, he won't need to pretend to not care when she gets hit on, nor will he need to pretend to be interested in the various women who eye him. Now, he can close that distance they generally put between them in the presence of others, even put his arm around her much like he is now. And he relishes in the feeling. Everything that he's envisioned before is his and it's all because of Greg.

He knows that one day, when they get married (and he knows they will, complete with the honeymoon he jokingly yet not-so-jokingly proclaimed), Greg will be making a speech alongside her own father. When they have kids, Greg is going to spoil them as if they really were his own flesh and blood. And they'll always have him to thank for getting them to that point in the future.

_There's nowhere else I'd rather be._

The words thrilled her before and they still do. They're going to make it. The expression on his face when he looks at her, that's proof enough. He's told her before that he loves her and she believes it with every fiber of her being. This is the man who was willing to move overseas just so they could still be together, in every sense of the word except for physically.

It's moments like these that she knows why they didn't work out the first time. His capacity to care for her even in those early moments in their relationship, his willingness to risk it all in spite of the fact that it was his career on the line; all of that for her, it had terrified her. And her own emotions had sent her running at the first chance. She had grown to care for him, on the verge of falling completely in love with him, and that sense of losing control had made her take a step back because she has never trusted anyone before to completely let go.

But now they're both all in and it's incredible how much better life is. Instead of quiet nights returning to a beautifully renovated but empty home, she goes to his place (although occasionally hers, but never by herself). Where before she would cook alone, settle for a quiet evening with a book, she now gets to watch Sam attempt to cook for her (where she invariably ends up taking over) before settling in front of the TV so he can get his hockey fix, as she and Natalie talk.

Before Sam, she was all about work. She went on dates, yes, but it was never anything particularly serious. She's never had someone who wants to be with her as much as he does. His steady resolve to not give up on them is what holds her together when she has her moments of wondering if they've made the right choices, done the right things.

It's that constant reassurance that where he wants to be is anywhere with her is all the proof she needs. It's what makes it possible for her to imagine, even when their future has seemed so unsteady, heading home to a place that's just theirs, instead of hers or his, a wedding (she's tempted to joke about wearing Kevlar, but she figures Donna wouldn't really appreciate it just yet…or ever), and even kids.

He wants to be there for all of it, and she's inclined to let him, because really, she can't really fathom him being anywhere else.

_You are my heart and you teach me something every day._

His eyes are drawn to her at that. They're Greg's words but they echo inside of him, every word ringing true. He can't imagine his life without her: his sexy sniper chick, who still manages to surprise him. He's met his match with her and she's set a standard that's impossible to follow.

He had been drawn to her the moment they met. There wasn't much hotter than a woman with a gun and Jules had definitely lived up to that. But he knew the rules: dating a teammate was against them and so at first he had tried to see her the way the rest of the team did; a daughter, a sister. It was probably just a fascination, nothing more. He'd poured his time and energy into becoming a better SRU member. But as he'd become more accepted by Team One, that allure to get to know her better had slowly become something he couldn't ignore.

So he had tried to settle for just friendship. Burritos, late-night coffee talks, just hanging out. But all the time he spent with her merely had him craving for more. And as their relationship had developed, it had become more than want, more than just that initial attraction.

He can't imagine a life without her anymore; it's just not possible. She's the woman he wakes up beside every morning, who takes his breath away with everything she does for the people she cares about. Jules had asked him idly once, tired and slightly tipsy after a particularly difficult shift for her which led to a few too many drinks at the Goose, what he imagined as his big picture.

He had never gotten to answer because she had promptly fallen asleep but the question had still lingered in his mind. His future had slowly become revolved around her. When he imagines getting married, it's her walking down that aisle, white gown and radiant smile instead of the usual SRU uniform and look of determination. Hiking for a honeymoon, it's her walking steadfastly beside him without complaint. Any kids he pictures have her brown hair and his blue eyes; his confidence and her compassion.

She's truly become his heart and he wants to give her everything. And now he can take the steps to do so, because with her by his side, anything's possible. They can have any future they want, surrounded by the support and love of their team.

_Let's keep the peace._

A/N: I tried, I struggled, I sort of gave up =P Either way, hope everyone enjoys. Please leave a review, they push me to want to write more :) - Kimmy


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